The Last of Us 2×06 Review: “The Price”

Flashbacks galore! The Last of Us season 2 episode 6, ‘The Price’, helped fill in the blanks regarding Ellie and Joel’s relationship troubles when we caught up with them during the sophomore season’s debut.

Trigger Warning: This review of ‘The Price’ mentions domestic violence.

‘The Price’ opened with a flashback of Joel’s childhood, where he decided to take the blame for Tommy’s mistake because their father favored “disciplining” his two sons with violence. The conversation between young Joel and his father about why he was abusive toward his sons, especially after being an abused child himself, was quite impactful. Hurt people hurt people. It takes a lot of strength not to go down the destructive path that growing up in an abusive household might push certain people toward.

Breaking the cycle of violence is one of the major themes in The Last of Us. Throughout the two seasons, we followed Joel’s journey as he worked toward being a far better father than his old man. Joel still had some faults, but he (and Tommy) succeeded in being good dads. Joel was able to break the cycle. And now it was Ellie’s turn to do the same as she continued her journey to seek Abby in the present.

‘The Price’ had several moments where Joel went all out to celebrate Ellie’s birthdays after they moved into Jackson together. However, you could tell that a rift was forming, with Ellie harboring doubts about Joel’s story about what happened to the Fireflies. Growing from a teenager into a young adult, it made sense for Ellie to want her own space, something that a protective Joel wasn’t too keen on. 

Joel finally realizing that Ellie was a lesbian also made for a fun yet awkward moment, furthering the distance between Ellie and Joel as he tried to connect to a young woman who was constantly pulling away. Joel was a tad bit homophobic, but it made sense in the context of the scene and how he was as a character. However, he made his unconditional love for Ellie very clear when he pushed Seth during the annual festival in Jackson. He also shared a heartfelt scene with Ellie about her possibly liking Dina.

The thing that really forced Ellie away from Joel involved Eugene. The season’s been teasing us about what actually happened between Eugene and Joel since the beginning. So, it was nice to finally see the definitive event unfold onscreen. It’s revealed that while on her first patrol, Ellie and Joel rushed to help Eugene. However, they were too late, and Eugene had already been infected.

Eugene begged Joel to take him back to Jackson so he could say goodbye to his wife, Gail. Ellie wanted to grant Eugene’s last wish. Apparently, he still had time before the infection fully took over. However, Joel took matters into his own hands and decided to kill Eugene after lying to both him and Ellie about escorting Eugene back. The moment Joel said the words “I promise” to Ellie, I knew it was over. She’s had her doubts about the hospital for years. And seeing the same expression on Joel’s face, followed by him killing Eugene and breaking his promise (again!), was enough proof for Ellie.

I really liked the scene where Ellie told the truth about what Joel did to Eugene after Joel came up with a fake story in front of Tommy and Gail. No wonder Gail couldn’t forgive Joel for what he did. She understood why he did it. But she wasn’t ready to forgive him.

As for Ellie finally confronting Joel about the hospital incident from season one, I appreciated the writers giving us a monumental conversation between the two. Ellie’s been waiting for years for Joel to tell her the truth, and a teary-eyed Joel finally did after Ellie came home from the recent festival. Pedro Pascal did an amazing job during the scene. You could see the fear of losing Ellie on his face.

Joel regretted having to kill all those people. But shouldering all of that regret was worth it if it meant Ellie got to live. Given the chance, he would make the same choice. Joel knew the price was Ellie eventually finding out the truth and never talking to him again, but still, he was willing to pay such a price if it guaranteed Ellie’s life.

While I understood Ellie feeling Joel took away her “purpose” because she was willing to die if it meant a cure for humanity could be created, I could also see where Joel’s coming from. Asking a parent to sacrifice their child for the sake of humanity is a tall ask. It made no logical sense to protect said child and let millions die, but then again, love can’t be explained by logic. Certain parents have done a lot worse for a lot less to ensure no harm came to their child, even when they were fully aware their child’s in the wrong.

I think seeing Joel in such a vulnerable state helped Ellie be kind to him during their conversation. She didn’t know if she could ever forgive Joel for what he did, but she was willing to try. And for Joel, that was more than enough. Now that Joel’s dead, I think Ellie’s been able to forgive him.

With one more episode to go, I’m excited to see where the season leaves us.

What did you think of The Last of Us season 2 episode 6, ‘The Price’? Are you excited about the finale?

Feel free to leave a comment.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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